Cigar Info
The Short Tales line from Saga was introduced in 2016. The line is a collection of smaller sized cigars with each having a unique blend, size, and theme. Each of these “themes” is a tribute to the art of tobacco making, and each cigar is presented in a box meant to look like a book complete with real pages. Saga Short Tales Tomo I was released in April 2016 and was the first in the series. It tells the story of High Priming Tobacco, or tobacco found higher on the plant.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The blend uses a wrapper from Jalapa, Nicaragua, Indonesian binder, and for the fillers, Connecticut broadleaf, habano, and negrito tobaccos grown by the Reyes family. It comes in just one vitola, a 4 x 58 double Rothschild. Each cigar has an MSRP of$8.49.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Double Rothschild
Length: 4″
Ring Gauge: 58
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Dominican Republic, U.S.A.
Factory: De Los Reyes S.A.
Blender: Nirka Reyes
Number of reviewers: 5 – John A. (Bostoneo) Alan (Eulogy) Mickey T. (irratebass) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Price: $8.50
Age: 1 Year
Release Date: April 2016
Contributed by: De Los Reyes
Initial Impressions – Saga Short Tales Tomo I – Tales of High Priming
Appearance: 90
“This cigar reminds me of the classic Nubs line by Oliva. Medium dark brown wrapper that is smooth to the touch even though there are some veins and seams that are visible. This cigar is firmly packed.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Aroma: 90
“Intense notes of barnyard, leather, and rich tobacco permeate from the wrapper and foot.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
First Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“On the cold draw, I pick up notes of must, salt, walnuts, and dried leaves. I am picking up more dried leaves with an undertone of sweetness. It’s making my mouth a little dry, but it’s not bad. The strength and body are both relatively mild so far.”-Mickey T. (irratebass)”
“Fairly mild to start off. There is some dark chocolate, cedar, leather, and white pepper on the draw but it isn’t very bold. The retrohale has a bit more spice and pepper. I’m finding the draw to be a little too snug but manageable.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Halfway through and things shift a bit. There’s a spice and sweetness like that of ginger beer, with a refreshing citrus paired with the snap of ginger.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
“As I enter the middle portion of the cigar I’m finding just a bit less pepper and some cream has come into the mix. This is a very welcome addition because the black pepper up front was blowing out my palate. Through the nose, I’m now able to retrohale more frequently as the pepper has faded to a more welcome white pepper zing.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Final Third
Flavor: 86
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“The final third starts off with a nice smooth and medium-bodied profile of milk chocolate and sweet pastry hay-like flavors. The profile remains the same, big and flavorful without knocking you on your ass, nice!!!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“The saltiness and the citrus are really complimenting each other and making the wood flavors take a backseat. The strength is still quite mild I’m really enjoying this cigar. No real change in flavors, but the cigar did get a bit harsh at the very end… no complaints though I did “nub” it heh.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Impressions – Saga Short Tales Tomo I – Tales of High Priming
Draw: 90
“There were no issues with the draw on this sample. I elected to punch the head instead of a traditional cut and had excellent airflow.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Burn: 88
“Slightly wavy most of the time but I did need to do one major touch-up. Not terrible but not a great experience.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Construction: 88
“Excellent construction on this cigar. It performed flawlessly except for the relight part… ash really held on and the cigar never got hot on me.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 86
“This cigar was an absolute flavor bomb in the mild to medium-bodied range. Wonderful notes of hay, cream, white pepper, milk chocolate, and wood make for a great combination for this cigar. Coupled with a slightly looser draw, requires some self-pacing, and great construction made this cigar a no-brainer and an early contender for the best cigar I’ve smoked yet this year. This is a must-pick up and try, don’t think about it… just do it… you will thank me.” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“It’s not for me. The profile is way too light about 70% of the time and would be overpowered by almost any pairing. When the flavors do start to pick up there is a bitter and harsh dimension to the profile that is very off-putting. The draw is too tight, smoke production too light, and burn too wavy to provide a relaxing experience.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Overall I really enjoyed this cigar there were a lot of wood flavors, but into the second and final third there was some nice citrus mixed with some salt flavors that really balanced it out and made the wood flavors seem to dilute. I would smoke this again and would like to pair it with some morning coffee.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“I had high hopes for this little tank of a cigar but unfortunately the flavors and experience did not live up to the excellent aroma. The initial flavors punched me right in the nose, and never let up enough to allow the nuances of fine tobacco to come to the front. One thing to note was my smoking buddy made several comments regarding the burning aroma of the cigar. He said it smells odd… not unpleasant but not like a normal cigar, which is strange. He was unable to pinpoint a specific aroma but it was strange enough for him to comment. I’m afraid I’ll pass on another of these…” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“With a profile that started out promising, it really let me down as time continued. It wasn’t so much the flavors, but the lack of pop to them that really disappointed me. What made this even more frustrating was the fact that the strength was continually building at the same time, which was a detriment to the cigar. If I’m going to smoke a cigar with any bit of strength, those flavors need to carry me along for the ride. Maybe this is a cigar that needs a little more time in the humidor to balance everything out.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 74
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| John A. | 88 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 92 |
| Alan | 92 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 85 |
| Mickey T. | 90 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 90 |
| Jason H. | 92 | 95 | 87 | 92 | 85 | 92 | 83 | 88 | 85 |
| Doug S. | 88 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.